BELL AIRCRAFT CORPORATION

USA

Original company of 1935, Bell Aircraft Corporation, responsible for P-39 Aircobra and P-63 Kingcobra of Second World War. Built first U.S. turbojet, the P-59 Aircomet fighter/trainer. Built the rocket-powered Bell X-1, in which USAF pilot Charles Yeager was the first to exceed the speed of sound, on October 14,1947. Subsequent X- 1A flown at 2,655km/h in 1953.
Bell P-63 Kingcobra
P-63 "Kingcobra"
Company subsequently known as Bell Aerosystems, then on July 5,1960 became Bell Aerospace Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Textron Inc., which had acquired the former Bell Aircraft Corporation. Responsible for the Bell Model D2127 tilting-duct research aircraft; two lunar Landing Research Vehicles (LLRV) for NASA, to train astronauts to land safely on the moon; Automatic Carrier Landing System (ACLS), used on U.S. Navy aircraft carriers; and was involved with an air-cushion landing system that was expected to enable military transports to land and take off from practically any surface. Terminated aircraft production. See Bell Helicopter Textron Inc.


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All the World's Rotorcraft


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YFM-1 "Airacuda"
P-39 "Airacobra"
XFL-1 Airabonita
P-59 "Airacomet"
P-63 "Kingcobra"
XP-77
XP-83
X-1
X-5
X-2